The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Carnation plant, botanically known as Dianthus caryophyllus and hereinafter referred to by the name `Cantare`.
The new Carnation is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Carnation cultivars having long flowering stems, early flowering, attractive flower color, and good flower form and substance.
The new Carnation originated from a cross made by the Inventor in 1991, in Salinas, Calif., of the carnation cultivar `Lek's White Pirouette`, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent with a proprietary Carnation seedling selection identified as code number 1462, as the female, or seed, parent.
The cultivar `Cantare` was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, in October, 1991. The selection of this plant was based on its flower color and good flower form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Carnation by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Suba, Cundinamarca, Colombia, has shown that the unique features of this new Carnation are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.